Sound Transit will add two new Sounder trains between Seattle and Lakewood

A southbound Sounder train travels across the old wooden trestle toward Tacoma Dome station in this February 2017 photo. Sound Transit announced this week it will add two round-trip trains to the popular south line, which connects Pierce County to Seattle. Drew Perinedperine@thenewstribune.com

A southbound Sounder train travels across the old wooden trestle toward Tacoma Dome station in this February 2017 photo. Sound Transit announced this week it will add two round-trip trains to the popular south line, which connects Pierce County to Seattle. Drew Perinedperine@thenewstribune.com

Sound Transit is adding two new round trips to its south line Sounder train service between Seattle and Lakewood starting Sept. 25.

The new trains will offer more capacity and more frequent departures, bringing the total daily round trips to 13 on the popular south line.

During peak commute times, Sounder trains will arrive as often as every 20 minutes, Sound Transit reported in a news release.

During the morning rush, an extra train will run between the first Lakewood departure at 4:36 a.m. and the 5:45 a.m. departure, which Sound Transit said will help ease congestion on the line’s most crowded trains.

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For afternoon rides, the added trains will allow for earlier service to Lakewood during traditional peak times and shorten the wait between the first and second trains to 40 minutes. To allow for that earlier departure, the 2:35 p.m. southbound train will end in Tacoma, and express bus service will connect from Puyallup to Lakewood.

The last evening trip will leave King Street Station at 6:30 p.m.

Sound Transit also is adding a third reverse-peak round trip, allowing for late-morning travel to Tacoma and early-afternoon travel to Seattle. More cars are being added to the mid-day train Sound Transit launched last September to boost capacity.